15 Minute Maps

What if all the data needed to respond to a humanitarian crisis already existed — but was scattered, siloed, and hard to use?In this episode of 15-Minute Maps, I’m joined by Saïd Abou Kharroub, a GIS specialist turned information management expert, former CEO of Civ API, and current board member of the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team (HOT).Saïd’s dream map isn’t a single map at all, but a one-stop, layered view of the world’s crises — aggregating data on conflict, displacement, funding, infrastructure, population, and satellite imagery into a single, accessible platform for decision-making.We discuss:What information management really means in humanitarian contexts — beyond tools and technologyWhy decision-making often struggles to connect field realities with available dataHow aggregating existing datasets can unlock faster, smarter responses to crisesThe role of APIs, open source data, and platforms like HOT and Civ APIWhy better data doesn’t replace human judgment — but strengthens itThis episode is a deep dive into how data becomes information, and how information becomes action — especially when lives are at stake.

Urban crises are some of the hardest environments to map — and yet that’s where millions of the world’s most vulnerable people live.In this episode of 15-Minute Maps, Hugo Powell is joined by Yann Rebois, Earth Observation Strategist at Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and former Head of Geodata & Analytics at the ICRC. Drawing on decades of field experience and satellite analysis, Yann shares his vision for a map that can finally make urban vulnerability visible.Yann’s dream map focuses on one of humanitarian response’s biggest blind spots: understanding who lives where in dense, damaged, and rapidly changing cities — and what “habitability” really means after conflict or disaster.Together, they discuss:Why population estimates break down in urban crisesThe limits of building footprints and satellite imagery in citiesHow proxies like water tanks and solar panels can reveal where people have returnedWhy “destroyed” doesn’t always mean “uninhabited”How GIS and Earth observation directly shape medical, water, and vaccination responsesThe challenge of detecting flooding and damage in dense urban environmentsThis episode offers a rare inside look at how satellite data, field knowledge, and humanitarian logistics come together — and why better urban maps are essential for effective aid.

What if our most trusted maps are quietly lying to us?This week on 15 Minute Maps, GIS technical advisor Cornelia Schultz (Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre) joins Hugo to reveal a hidden truth about the world’s most vulnerable places: the places we think are empty may simply be unmapped.Working at the intersection of climate change, conflict, and humanitarian response, Cornelia explains why entire communities — especially remote, nomadic, or conflict-affected populations — are missing from global mapping platforms. And when disaster hits, that invisibility can mean the difference between receiving aid and being overlooked entirely.In this episode, Cornelia unveils her “Dragon’s Map,” inspired by the ancient cartographer’s warning Hic sunt dracones (“Here be dragons”). The idea: a map that finally shows us where the blind spots are — not where nothing exists, but where our data ends.We discuss: – Why many regions show up as “blank” not because they’re empty, but because no one mapped them. – How climate disasters reveal entire communities that digital maps fail to show. – The risks of humanitarian planning in a world where only data-rich places get attention. – How the digital divide — and the economics of mapping — leave the world’s most vulnerable people invisible. – Why highlighting what we don’t know can transform emergency response.A must-listen for anyone working in GIS, climate, humanitarian response, or global development — and for anyone who’s ever assumed that “no data” means “no people.”LinksRed Cross Red Crescent Map LibraryCornelia's LinkedIn

In this episode of 15 Minute Maps, I speak with David de Ridder, Senior Research Fellow at the University Hospital of Geneva (HUG), who specializes in spatial epidemiology and digital public health.David shares his dream map: a next-generation routing system that doesn’t optimize for speed, but for health. Think: a navigation app that automatically guides you through routes with less air pollution, lower noise, fewer allergens, and greater safety — subtly improving your daily environment without adding friction to your life.Together, we explore: • How spatial data helped track and respond to COVID-19 in Geneva • Why tiny differences between neighbourhoods matter for public health • The concept of exposomics — the full range of environmental factors shaping our bodies • The promise and challenges of “passive” digital health tools • How smarter maps could reduce stress, prevent disease, and promote healthier citiesIf you're curious about the future of mapping, digital health, or how your environment shapes your well-being, this episode is packed with insights.

Ever Wondered How You’d Navigate the Ocean With No Compass, No GPS, and No Land in Sight? Well this episode once again proves the importance of maintaining indigenous knowledge.That question led Bonner Professor John Huth, Harvard physicist and renowned member of the team that discovered the Higgs boson, into an entirely different field of research — mapping the ocean waves that Indigenous Marshallese navigators use to navigate their many atolls.In this episode we discuss: How Marshallese navigators sail between islands by feeling subtle changes in the direction of swells.The challenge of turning experiential, embodied knowledge into something that can be mapped without reducing its cultural meaning.Why he teaches a course on navigation that blends science, history, and Indigenous techniques — and why it resonates today.How sensor data, drift measurements, and hand-drawn charts can help visualize a navigation system most of us have never encountered.If we can map the wave structures that navigators feel, we can help preserve a knowledge system that’s at risk of disappearing — and better understand how humans read their environment.This episode is for anyone interested in mapping, ocean science, traditional knowledge systems, or how we make sense of place.